The present invention relates to communication systems and more particularly to methods and apparatus for managing data transmission in communications system.
Communication systems, particularly wireless telecommunication systems, that allow data to be transmitted from a transmitter to a receiver in a network are well known and commonly used. Examples include systems arranged in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 set of standards (sometimes referred to as “WiFi”) and mobile communication networks arranged in accordance with the 3GPP standards, 3GPP systems include communication systems using the General Packet Radio System (GPRS), UMTS systems employing the Enhanced Uplink (EUL) (sometimes referred to as High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA)) and systems arranged in accordance with the more recently defined Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard.
Whilst these communication systems typically provide high data rates over robust radio links, at present they are not always well suited to all data communication applications. For example, machine type communication (MTC) systems (sometimes referred to as machine to machine (M2M) systems) permit autonomous or semiautonomous devices to transmit data across a wireless network, such as a conventional mobile telecommunication network. Examples of MTC communication systems include so-called “smart meter” systems in which a transmitting device is located on a premises and transmits data to a central server regarding a user's consumption of a utility such as electricity or water. MTC communication systems typically involve the transmission of relatively low quantities of non-time critical data at relatively infrequent intervals. Such data can be inefficient to transmit using conventional wireless communication systems as the quantity of signalling data may be relatively large compared to the amount of data to be transmitted. Accordingly, a disproportionately high amount of signalling data may be transmitted to support the transmission of relatively small amounts of data.